The RX rocket family (Roket Eksperimental, ) is a series of solid-fuel rockets developed by the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN).
They are simply named by their diameter in millimeters; for example, the RX-250 has a diameter of . The propellant used is HTPB-based composite propellant.
Individual boosters This family is composed of:
Version Diameter (mm) Length (m) Thrust (kN) Burn time (s) Specific impulse (s) Propellant mass (kg) Total mass (kg) Payload (kg) Flights Years active Apogee reached (km) Range reached (km) RX-75 75 RX-100 100 1.90 2.5 30 7 11 RX-1220 122 19.6 2015-2019 25 RX-150 150 RX-250 250 5.30 53 6.0 220 300 30–60 8 1987–2007 70–100 RX-320 320 4.74 52 9.0 220 371 532 3 2008–2014 40–42 RX-420 420 94 12.3 220 425 1 2009 43 90 RX-450 450 7.11 126 19.5 230 757-765 1718 5 2015-2020 44-84 129 RX-550 550 255 14 240 1519 2010 300 533 RX-750 750 1,000 RX-980 980 2,000-3,000km (Estimation)
Note: Characteristics in italics are design values, they have not been measured yet.
RX-250 was launched eight times from 1987 to 2007. RX-320 was launched twice in 2008 and once again in 2014. RX-420 flew just once in 2009; it is superseded by RX-450 which was launched on 13 May 2015.
, the next booster version RX-550 is under construction; the larger ones are only on the drawing board. RX-550 has a speed of Mach 7.62 which makes it fall into the hypersonic category
In 2017 successful launches of RX 450 and RX 1220 were carried out from the Space and Atmospheric Observation & Technology Testing Center at Garut, West Java. The RX 1220 is a based on the R-HAN122 B.
Two RX-1220 rockets were launched at the Karang Papak Air Force Base on December 23, 2018.
Multi-stage rockets Once the solid boosters are fully qualified, LAPAN plans to assemble several of them into multi-stage rockets called Roket Pengorbit Satelit or RPS. Four staging configurations have been retained so far: RPS-01 Variant 1 (ex-RPS-420) First stage: 3 x RX-420 Second stage: 1 x RX-420 Third stage: 1 x RX-420 (shorter) Fourth stage: 1 x RX-320 Total height: RPS-01 Variant 2b First stage: 1 x RX-550 + 2 x RX-420 Second stage: 1 x RX-550 Third stage: 1 x RX-320 Total height: RPS-01 Variant 3a First stage: 1 x RX-450 Second stage: 1 x RX-450 Total height: RPS-01 Variant 3b First stage: 1 x RX-450 + 2 x RX-320 Second stage: 1 x RX-450 Third stage: 1 x RX-320 Total height:
Earlier plans for the Pengorbitan-1 and -2 orbital launch vehicles (RPS-420s) were based on the RX-420 engine which was superseded by the RX-450. , integration work is proceeding on variants 3a and 3b, whose engines have all been successfully flight-qualified. RX-320 planned as Anti-aircraft system
Since 2019, LAPAN's rocket division PUSTEKROKET has collaborated with AASPT and CGWIC of China in designing newer multiple stage sounding rockets. The new rockets will be called RX-452 which combined of first stage, and of second stage. The design is based on TK-32 sounding rocket as well as RX-450. It is expected the newer design to be able to reach above , simulation showed the rocket is able to reach .
RX-452 First stage: 1 x RX-400 Second stage: 1 x RX-450 Total height:
Military variant
R-Han 122: MLRS/Artillery rocket variant R-Han 450: Rocket artillery variant R-Han 550: Short-range ballistic missile variant
R-Han 750: Medium-range ballistic missile variant
See also Indonesia and weapons of mass destruction
References